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Grapefruit League Preview (GM #3): Rays @ Orioles

By Dylan Spaulding |
Franco will make his Spring debut this afternoon.
Franco will make his Spring debut this afternoon. / Winslow Townson/GettyImages
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The Rays travel to Sarasota this afternoon to take on the Orioles, as the team inches ever so closer to their first of two technical home openers in Lake Buena Vista at the Wide World of Sports Complex versus the Yankees tomorrow.

After dropping two over the weekend in Ft. Myers, the team will be looking to grab a win in their final game of this three-game road slate to start out the Grapefruit League season.

The team will be bringing out many of their regulars for this afternoon's ballgame, as fans will get their first glimpse of Randy Arozarena and Wander Franco this spring.

With that said, these are the "Three Keys to Watch" for the February 27th matchup versus the Baltimore Orioles.

1. BRING BACK THE BATS

So far this spring, the club's bats have been rather quiet, grabbing only 4 hits in Sunday's game and 8 hits in Saturday's opener, but only accounting for 4 runs. 

However, with an almost identical Opening Day lineup that the Rays are breaking out today versus Baltimore, this will be a good opportunity for the bats to start rolling again in the spring.

Personally, I would love to see a nice day for Isaac Paredes, who is coming off of a career year last season, to do something big in this game, such as hitting a home run.

2. WANDERVISION

Wander's back!

For the first time this spring, fans will get a glimpse of the Rays' phenom Wander Franco, and for Rays fans, it's more about seeing him get back to business than anything else.

Last season, the Rays dealt with a lot of injuries in their quest for the playoffs, and Wander was on that list, resulting in a bit of a down season for the star shortstop.

For Rays fans, we want to see Wander get back to what he does best, which is his hitting, and I expect Wander to at least grab a base hit this afternoon.

Also, with a background in using the pitch clock in the Minors, Wander should be able to have a better understanding of the timing during at-bats, something that a majority of the Rays roster should succeed at.

3. WE ARE YOUNG

In the first two games of the spring, we have seen solid pitching from the staff, especially some of the younger arms that are here in camp.

This afternoon, the Rays will have right-hander Elvin Rodriguez on the bump to start the game against the Orioles, and for fans, you hope to see some solid innings out of your younger guys, especially since this is the last start, we will see some of these younger arms in the system start for a few days, as the staff flips to the regulars out of the rotation.

If we could see another solid performance like we have seen from Cooper Criswell, Mason Montgomery, and Taj Bradley this afternoon, Rays fans should be happy after seeing some of these younger prospects succeed, especially against some solid big-league bats.

GAME INFORMATION

Tampa Bay Rays (0-2-0) @ Baltimore Orioles (2-0-0)

Game Time: 1:05pm EST

Location: Sarasota, Florida (Ed Smith Stadium)

Prob Pitchers

TB: RHP Elvin Rodriguez (0-0) vs. BAL: LHP Bruce Zimmermann (0-0)

GAME NOTES

  • The Rays were 1-1 last season versus the Orioles in Grapefruit League games.
  • First of 2 Matchups on the 2023 Grapefruit League schedule between BAL-TB (1 Road, 1 Home)
  • Rodriguez will make his 4th career Grapefruit League start this afternoon.
  • Zimmermann, in only 8.2 innings of work in the regular season, has an 0-1 record with an 8.50 ERA in 2 starts versus the Rays in his career.
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